Making Charoses

The brass mortar and pestle had been handed down from generation to generation. During the year they were used to crush cinnamon, pepper, and garlic. Each year, for Passover, they were kashered (made kosher) according to Orthodox law, to crush the nuts for charoses. Chopped apples, nuts, and wine made up the mixture for charoses for the seder (Passover meal).

Making charoses was my father's job, and we weren't allowed to taste it before the seder.

This delicious treat is a reminder of the mortar used by the enslaved Jews to build pyramids for the Pharaohs in Egypt.